Month: October 2011

Over 300 new members sign for MDP from Hinnavaru

Over 300 people from Lhaviyani Hinnavaru signed for the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at a rally on Saturday.

At the rally in Hinnavaru, two Independent councillors from Baa Atoll Hithaadhoo also signed for the party, giving control of the island council to the MDP.

Speaking at the rally, MDP MP for Hinnavaru Ibrahim Mohamed Solih – who is also the current parliamentary group leader – announced that the constituency of Hinnavaru now had the most number of MDP members out of the 77 voting districts in the country.

With the additional members, the ruling party now has over 1,200 members in the constituency.

Meanwhile in a press release today the party announced results of a primary held on Sunday to select a candidate to compete in a by-election scheduled for November 19 to replace a vacant council seat in Fuvahmulah. Out of three contenders for the MDP ticket, Shaffaf Naseer, of Fuvahmulah Hazaarumaage, won the primary with 121 votes.

The council seat for mid-Fuvahmulah was previously filled by an MDP councillor, who lost his seat after the Supreme Court ruled that he had a decreed debt and should have been disqualified from the local council elections in February.

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Bank of Maldives to introduce community banking

The Bank of Maldives Plc (BML) signed an agreement with the Maldives Post Ltd this week to provide community banking in islands without BML branches.

Speaking to press after the signing ceremony, Maldives Post Ltd Managing Director Shazly Shafeeq explained that community banking services, such as depositing and withdrawing cash through post, shall be provided to islands without bank branches.

“This is something new, and we shall implement it gradually, step by step, in a number of phases. We hope that, God Willing, the work shall begin the next year, and the first service would be an ATM,” Shazly was quoted as saying in Sun Online.

In the first phase, ATMs are to be set up at Noonu Atoll Velidhoo and Haa Dhaal Atoll Hanimaadhoo. A new ATM has meanwhile been opened at the Maldives Post Ltd building in Male’.

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Police close 125 cases in September

Police concluded investigations and forwarded 125 cases to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) in September.

According to police statistics, of the 907 cases reported to different departments last month, 270 were reported to the property crimes department, 254 to the capital police, 144 to traffic police, 78 to the serious and organised crime department, 68 to the fraud and financial crime department, 53 to the drug enforcement department and 40 to the family and child protection department.

The fraud and financial crime department closed and sent 33 cases for prosecution while capital police closed 25 cases. The serious and organised crime and child and family protection departments each closed 17 cases. Drug cases sent for prosecution meanwhile numbered 12 followed by one case of traffic violation.

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Parliament to investigate alleged violation of MPs privileges

MPs voted 32-26 in favour of a proposal by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed to investigate a supposed violation of MPs special privileges by a group of social activists who put up posters of MPs across Male’ with their phone numbers.

Under the proposal voted through yesterday, the parliamentary Privileges Committee has been tasked with conducting an inquiry into the alleged violation and decide whether to ask police for an official investigation.

Last week, Riyaz submitted a motion without notice claiming that a civic action campaign against controversial Rf20,000-a-month committee allowances approved last year violated MPs’ special privileges.

A loose association of concerned citizens and members of local NGOs launched a campaign in late August after parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) decided to issue a lump sum of Rf140,000 (US$9,000) as committee allowance back pay for January through July this year.

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Parliament approves sending Maldivian troops to UN peacekeeping operations

Parliament yesterday approved sending Maldivian troops to join UN peacekeeping operations.

In August this year, parliament’s National Security Committee voted in favor of signing a memorandum of understanding with the UN to send Maldivian soldiers to UN conflict zones for peacekeeping operations.

All members of the committee were present at the meeting last Monday when voting took place, including Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam, Peoples Alliance Party (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla and DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz.

On April 5, the cabinet decided to sign the memorandum of understanding with the UN and forwarded the matter to parliament, noting that it would be important for the Maldives to contribute to international efforts to ensure that every country, society and individual had the opportunity to live in peace and security.

According to 243(b) of the constitution, “if the President, as Commander in Chief, authorises or orders the employment of the military service in defence of the republic or as part of an international undertaking, the President shall without delay submit the authorisation to the People’s Majlis. The People’s Majlis may at any time approve the authorisation, or revoke the authorisation.”

During yesterday’s final debate stage at parliament, opposition MP Ahmed Mahlouf said the issue was “not a joke.”

“This is a very serious issue,” he said. “I do not think any honorable member would want to send some Maldivians abroad to their deaths.”

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf also expressed concern over the issue and called on the government to withdraw the decision.

Salaf at the time claimed that any Muslim who assisted non-Muslims in a war against Muslims would themselves be branded infidels.

“Muslims will be obliged to treat him as a non-Muslim in all ways, such as if dead, burying without enshrouding the body, burying the body with other non-believer, and when dealing with inheritance matters the terms and condition that applies to a non-believer who dies in a war against Muslims will be applied to him,” the NGO said.

The MoU was approved with 56 votes in favour, five abstentions and 11 votes against.

MPs Ibrahim Muthalib, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, Yousuf Abdul Ghafoor, Mohamed Mujthaz, Hassan Latheef, Ahmed Rasheed Ibrahim, Moosa Zameer, MP Abdul Azeez Jamaal Abu Bakur, Hussein Mohamed, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Nasheed and Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) Riyaz Rasheed voted against signing the MoU with the UN.

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Criminal Court convicts two individuals listed as dangerous by police

The Criminal Court yesterday convicted two persons identified by police as dangerous criminals.

The court identified the pair as Hassan Ali of Fares-Mathoda in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, who was sentenced to three years, and Aseel Ismail, who was sentenced to seven years.

The pair was sentenced after the Criminal Court found them guilty of attacking Riluwan Faruhath last year in December, on Boduthakurufaanu Magu in Male’.

At today’s hearing the judge said that Aseel had confessed that he had an altercation with Riluwan that day and attacked him with a machete.

Hassan was charged for assisting Aseel in fleeing after attacking Riluwan.

In March this year, Hassaan and Aseel were arrested again during a special operation conducted to avoid potential clashes between rival gangs following the fatal stabbing of 21 year-old Ahusan Basheer.

Recently two individuals, Ali Shareef and Maadhih Mohamed, were sentenced to jail after the court found both guilty of stabbing Ismail Firdhause of Feydhoo in Addu City on February 24 2011, when he got off the Hulhumale’ ferry.

Because it was the first time both had been found guilty of a crime violating the Act, Maadhih was sentenced to eight years and Shareef to 12 years in prison.

Both had denied the charges against them, however the court granted the police authority to hold them in custody until their trial was concluded.

Maadhih and Shareef both admitted that they were in the area when the incident occurred but denied that they were involved in it or that they knew anybody in the gang that attacked Firdhause.

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ACC investigates Disaster Management with forensic experts

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday entered the Disaster Management Center (DMC) with a police escort to investigate files relating to a 2006 housing construction project in Laamu atoll.

The Ministry of Housing and Environment did not comment on the investigation’s purpose, which is being conducted four months after outstanding payments to the construction company were made.

Movey Construction Company was hired under the former government to manage an Rf18 million project in 2006, which was completed in 2007. In 2009, DMC delayed payments due to a financial shortage, and in January 2011 Movey Construction filed a complaint for financial losses.

Deputy Minister of Housing and Environment, Ahmed Zaki, said he had been puzzled by the delay. “All the paperwork was in order,” he told Minivan News today. Moreover, the complaint against the Disaster Management Center “had enough evidence, and the payments were made with approval by the Finance Ministry in May.”

Zaki said forensic experts had accompanied ACC staff yesterday to “review paperwork and files in a clear and informed fashion. The hard drives which had been removed for further examination were returned today, all clear.”

When asked if the ACC investigation implied a concern for corruption, Zaki said he did not believe there was any reason to suspect corruption in the dealings between DMC and Movey Construction Company.

“This is just an accusation because payments were delayed. But the payments were made this May with sufficient documents from all parties. The financial system in the Maldives is very transparent, there are a lot of layers, checks and balances, so I am confident that there is no issue of corruption here,” he said.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the police would provide support as needed during the investigation.

“We have a signed agreement with the ACC to provide support as needed. Our forensic experts are currently working on the case,” Shiyam said.

Members of Movey Construction Company and the ACC were not available for comment.

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Indian teacher arrested after religious hymns found on school laptop

Indian teacher Shijo Kokkattu was arrested last week on Raa Atoll for possession of Catholic imagery and a Bible.

A Raafainu School teacher had contacted police after finding what appeared to be Christian hymn videos on a school computer, which 30 year-old Kokkattu had allegedly transferred from his personal flash drive by accident.

Foreign media and school sources reported that religious songs and pictures had been transferred onto the desktop of a school laptop, which Kokkattu had used.

“The videos were in Indian, so I don’t know what they were saying, but the images were Christian,” said Raafainu Principal Mohamed Shiraj. Shiraj did not know if the video transfer was intentional.

Shiraj said that a teacher had found the material and contacted the National Administrative Center, which had reported the matter to the police. Kokkattu was taken into custody, where he has been held for the past week.

Police could not confirm Kokkattu’s arrest and detention.

Kokkattu, of Kerala, India, had been teaching at Raafainu School for two years before his arrest. “He was a very good teacher, we’ve not had any complaints of him in the past,” said Shiraj.

Shiraj said Kokkattu had not shown the material to anyone.

Meanwhile, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has demanded in regional media that the Indian government seek an apology from the Maldives over Kokkattu’s treatment.

“The lack of justice and the degree of religious intolerance in the Maldives is reflected by the actions of the Maldives government,” GCIC President Sajan K George told Asia News. “This is the worst form of religious persecution. The Indian government should demand an apology for the shabby treatment inflicted on one of its citizens.”

George called Kokkattu’s case evidence of the Maldives’ paradoxical nature. He said the Maldives “claims to be a major tourist destination, yet arrests innocent people,” George said. “This shows its intolerance and discrimination towards non-Muslims as well as its restrictions on freedom of conscience and religion.”

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